What's the difference?
There are around 30 different models fighting for your attention in Australia’s medium SUV segment. More than double that if you include premium options. In other words, there’s overwhelming choice.
Some of the most popular options include Toyota’s RAV4, the Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi Outlander, with a bunch of Chinese brands climbing up the charts.
But have you ever considered a Mahindra? The Indian carmaker has been operating in Australia for close to 20 years and the product line-up has improved considerably.
Case in point, the Mahindra XUV700. A replacement for the unloved XUV500, it’s just come in for a refresh adding new interior trim and tech features and it’s still affordable.
But is it worth taking a chance on the up-and-coming brand? Read on to find out.
Jeep's Renegade might be late to the mini-SUV party but it comes with a pretty impressive back catalogue to suggest that this is a SUV that can cash the cheques its name can write.
The top of the range Trailhawk can write even bigger cheques than the lower models, bringing with it a range of off-road tech toys to let you really get down and dirty.
The Mahindra XUV700 is a solid, well-rounded family SUV. It has a practical cabin with a usable third row and a punchy turbocharged powertrain. The Indian manufacturer needs to address a few things like interior quality and some ADAS calibration and there’s more work to do when it comes to ride and handling. But overall this seven-seat SUV represents exceptional value for money against some pricier rivals and should be on more consideration lists.
Rugged, dependable and good off-road are the most obvious qualities of the Trailhawk. It stands out from the rest of the mini-SUVs by being able to do the S and the U with plenty of vigour.
It's just a shame that its on-road manners can't match that of its big brother, the Cherokee. Unless you're planning on proper off-roading, the Trailhawk might not be quite what you're looking for.
The XUV700 is a reasonably handsome vehicle in the metal. It has a distinctive look that ensures it is immediately identifiable as a Mahindra. It is a clear evolution of the XUV500 it replaces, but far more coherent.
It has a typical SUV shape but in profile the bonnet looks short and it has a big glasshouse with a kicked-up window line from the C-pillar back.
Front on the unique headlights surround an appealing six-bar grille with the cool Mahindra badge front and centre.
The rear features stretched and pinched tail-lights and the XUV700 sits up high on the road.
Inside the cabin is neat and the dash has an uncomplicated layout. It’s not the world’s most visually appealing interior but it doesn’t get anything wrong. Although the steering wheel feels a bit cheap.
The lovely dark grey interior is broken up with a light grey upper half and there’s stitching on the seats, dash and steering wheel. There are plenty of piano black inserts but it's not overdone.
In what is absolutely not a coincidence, the Renegade immediately conjures up the Wrangler. Upright grille from the Willys Jeep (references abound here), round headlights, squared off wheel arches to mimic the Wrangler's guards, short overhangs and big rear view mirrors.
The 17-inch wheels look completely lost in the wheelarches which are even more cavernous owing to the Trailhawk's 50mm of extra ride height. The wheels are also a bit cheap looking but will probably survive the belting the car is intended to take.
Less rugged is the interior, despite a fairly self-conscious effort to make it look and feel chunky. The front seats are flat and unsupportive with the rears just as lacklustre making sure everyone is sliding around together. Luckily, front passengers get a dash-mounted grab handle.
It seems quite well put together, however, but with carpets and easily-marked plastics, you'll hope your passengers don't bring the mud in with them too often. And the "Since 1941" stamped into the steering wheel can go.
The dashboard is reasonably clear and has plenty of information to share via the screen between the dials but whoever thought marking the redline with a water splash graphic in bright orange should probably rethink their design decisions.
Storage is limited to two cupholders up front, door pockets in each door and nets on the front seat backs.
The Mahindra XUV700 is offered in two model grades, both powered by the same petrol engine. It all kicks off with the AX7 from an affordable $39,990, drive-away.
The focus of this review is the AX7L which tops the range at $42,990, drive-away, which is still great value.
At this price the Mahindra undercuts most mainstream medium SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 and lines up more closely with the GWM Haval H6 and MG HS from China.
But unlike most of the mid-size SUV set, the XUV700 has a third seating row. The only other offerings in this category to boast that option are the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail, - all of which are more expensive for an equivalent seven-seat grade when factoring in on-road costs.
For the model year 2025 update, both Mahindra XUV700 grades gain all-black interior trim, while the AX7L updates to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as ventilated front seats with memory settings for the power function.
Standard gear in the AX7L includes a panoramic sunroof, dual 10.25-inch screens, synthetic leather trim, keyless entry and start, a 12-speaker audio system, wireless charging and a leather steering wheel.
You also get a 360-degree surround-view monitor, Bluetooth, rain-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels and an electronic park brake.
The only option available is premium paint at $495 extra, including the 'Midnight Black' shade on our test car.
This isn’t top-grade luxury car levels of standard gear, but there's very little that’s missing and for $43K, that’s impressive.
The Renegade range starts at $28,000 for the 1.6-litre Renegade Sport manual front-wheel drive, climbing between $2000 and $3000 through the Sport Auto, Longitude Auto, Limited Auto with a final jump of $4000 to the 2.4-litre auto-only Trailhawk.
Standard is a nine-speaker stereo with Bluetooth and USB, 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and start, cruise control, electric front seats with heating, satellite navigation, automatic bi-xenon headlights, auto wipers, leather trim, roof rails, front and middle bash plates, full size spare, heated leather steering wheel, privacy glass, trailer sway control and tyre pressure monitoring.
The lairy Omaha orange is $500, part of an eleven colour palette with only two no-cost paint options (black and white).
You can add lane departure warning, auto-parking and a black painted roof for $500 each, a removable and retractable roof called My Sky Roof for $2200 or a more conventional electric sunroof for $1900.
The Beats-branded nine-speaker stereo is run via Fiat-Chryser's UConnect system, accessible through the 6.5-inch touchscreen. While it improves with every attempt, it's still quite clunky and when the sat-nav is added, becomes a bit of a mess.
Thankfully, not every function has been crammed into the touchscreen interface, so you'll spend more time with your hands on the wheel rather than working out which bit of the screen has the climate control.
The XUV700 is powered by what Mahindra calls its ‘mStallion’ 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine delivering 149kW of power and 380Nm of torque. These are solid outputs and the only petrol-powered mainstream rivals that come close to those figures are the Kia Sportage/Hyundai Tucson mechanical twins, with their 1.6-litre turbo punching out 169kW/350Nm.
The Mahindra’s engine is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels only, so no all-wheel-drive option here.
The Trailhawk is powered by Fiat's 2.4-litre four naturally-aspirated four-cylinder producing 129 kW and 230 Nm. Jeep reckons you'll get 7.5L/100km on the combined cycle. Our mostly city driving with a longish motorway run produced an 11.0L/100km average over a week.
The transmission is a nine-speed ZF automatic driving all four wheels.
The Trailhawk also has Jeep's five mode Selec-Terrain system which should cover pretty much every eventuality – Auto, Sport, Mud, Sand and, just for the Trailhawk, Rock. The Trailhawk is rated to tow 400kg unbraked and 907kg braked.
On the road the Mahindra has some clear pros and cons. Overall, it’s a more polished performer than you might expect.
The turbocharged engine sounds good when pushed and is a punchy unit, delivering linear acceleration and getting to speed quickly, mostly without fuss. The 235/60R18 MRF Wanderer tyres have a tendency to chirp when accelerating hard and the XUV700 would benefit from higher quality rubber.
The six-speed auto transmission works well with the engine, delivering smooth shifts but it can hold gears on downhill runs.
Ride quality is a mixed bag. Those tyres have a high sidewall but you’ll feel bumps like road and bridge joins, while speed bumps aren't so smooth, either. The ride is on the firmer side but it’s no dealbreaker.
It’s a little top-heavy when cornering, so there is lateral movement in the car. A good reminder this is a family SUV, not a hot hatch.
Steering is overly light and a bit too sharp for this sort of vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with dull or slower steering in a family car because it’s less responsive if you accidentally turn the wheel when distracted by shenanigans in the back seat.
The brakes are also quite sensitive. Just a tap of the foot and you’re coming to a full stop.
A bit of road and wind noise creeps into the cabin, so it’s not the most hushed interior, but it’s not too dramatic.
Other points include a decent turning circle, making it more nimble than you might think in tight parking spots, and poor-quality, low-definition lane watch camera display. Also the remote lock and unlock is temperamental. You need to double check it’s locked.
The Trailhawk name suggest that things are going to get muddy – compared to the rest of the range, the range-topper rides 50mm higher and has exposed, easy-to-reach tow hooks in the fairly unlikely event you get stuck. It also has a 20:1 low-range crawl ratio and Active Drive 4x4 which means it can switch between front and all-wheel drive. It'll also wade through almost half a metre of water. It's a genuine mud-plugging proposition and will take on some much bigger machinery out in the bush.
On the road, where we spent all our time in the Renegade, it's not what you'd call particularly inspiring. There's a number of sources of noise that contribute to a less than quiet cabin and having to constantly correct your course at freeway speeds adds to the tiring nature of the Renegade.
It's much better at lower speeds, pottering around but then again, its nine-speed transmission needs a lot more work on the shift mapping because it seems to forget which gear it needs to be in when you sink the right foot. If you don't need the Trailhawk's extra off-road goodies, consider the 1.4 litre Limited or Longitude.
The XUV700 is yet to be assessed by ANCAP so it currently doesn’t have a score.
The standard safety list is solid without being exceptional, and it includes seven airbags in this grade, with the curtain airbags stretching all the way back to the third seating row. However, it misses out on a front centre bag.
In terms of driver aids and advanced driver assistance (ADAS) tech, it also comes with adaptive cruise with stop & go, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring, blind spot monitor and a pilot assist function. It lacks a rear cross-traffic alert.
The reversing camera lags when you put the car in reverse, taking a couple of beats to kick in. Not great when you’re trying to park on a busy street.
The adaptive cruise needs further calibration. When the system detects a car in front, it slows the Mahindra down a little too dramatically and takes too long to respond.
Seven airbags (including driver's knee bag), traction and stability controls, roll mitigation, blind spot monitoring, ABS and brake assist.
The Renegade does not yet have an ANCAP star rating although it scored five EuroNCAP stars in 2014.